Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in. Mental health is a basic human right. And it is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development.
The importance of mental health and well-being starts with acknowledging that it exists on a complex continuum that can fluctuate on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis that is experienced differently between each individual. Strengthening access to informal and formal resources addressing mental health care and treatment is vital to protecting the well-being of individuals and society.
Start from our LSC CARE for Completion campus and local resources to assist with your needs.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Mental Illness | A condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, behavior or mood. These conditions deeply impact daily living and may also affect the ability to relate to others. |
| Mental Distress | A general term for a subjective sense of discomfort, mental anguish, perceived lack of control, anxiety, or stress. This state is also known as psychological distress. |
| Well-Being | A state of functioning and general satisfaction with life. Economic, environmental, and social conditions may contribute to a sense of purpose and meaning. |
| Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) | When severe symptoms of lack of energy and hopelessness develop in multiple areas of a person’s life along with persistent sadness over at least two weeks. |
| Anxiety Disorders | A group of related conditions, each having unique symptoms. They all have one thing in common: persistent, excessive fear or worry in situations that are not threatening. |
| Trauma |
A deeply distressing experience that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope, leading to lasting emotional, psychological, or physical effects. |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | Traumatic events can have lasting effects on a person’s mental health. Some people can develop longer term symptoms that can lead to a diagnosis of PTSD. Symptoms often co-exist with other conditions. |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) | A condition characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity. It is subdivided into three main types. Includes having trouble controlling these behaviors and will show them much more frequently and for longer than 6 months. |
| Psychotherapy |
A.k.a. “talk therapy,” is when a person speaks with a trained therapist in a safe and confidential space to explore and understand feelings, behaviors, and gain coping skills. The conversation is often led by the therapist and can touch on various topics. |
| Psychiatric Medication | Used to positively influence the brain chemicals that regulate emotions and thought patterns. The major categories are: antidepressants, antipsychotics, anti-anxiety, mood stabilizers, and generic brand medications. |
| Brain Stimulation Therapies | These involve stimulating the brain directly with electricity, magnets or implants. Common ones include electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). |
| Anosognosia | When someone is unaware of their own mental health condition or that they can’t perceive their condition accurately. |
| Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) | A developmental condition that affects a person’s ability to socialize and communicate with others. People with ASD can also present with restricted and/or repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities. |
| Self-Harm | When someone hurts themselves on purpose and is a sign of severe emotional distress. These uncomfortable emotions may grow more intense if a person continues to use self-harm as an unhealthy coping mechanism. |
| Sleep Disorders | When individuals experience problems including not getting enough sleep, not feeling rested, and not sleeping well. This can lead to difficulties functioning during the daytime and have unpleasant effects on daily life. |
| Substance Use Disorders | The repeated misuse of alcohol and/or drugs often occurs simultaneously in individuals with mental illness, usually to cope with overwhelming symptoms. |
| Suicide (Risks) | Behaviors indicating a psychiatric emergency in which someone thinks about, plans to, or commits the act of taking their own life. |
| Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) | A reference book on mental health and brain-related conditions and disorders. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is responsible for the writing, editing, reviewing and publishing of this book. It provides highly detailed definitions, symptoms, and examples. The DSM-5 and DSM-5-TR are medical reference books intended for experts and professionals; you shouldn’t use either of these books as a substitute for seeing a trained, qualified provider. |
There can be a very thin line between the dangers of self-diagnosis and the importance of self-advocating for one's own mental health needs. The former can increase the risk of misdiagnosis, lead to inaccurate information, and to using coping strategies that cause more harm than good. The latter is intended for increasing one's self-awareness, boost motivation for seeking professional help, lead to more accurate diagnoses, and enhance potential for individualized treatment.
Personal and perceived stigmas and biases held by individuals and their communities about mental health has been identified as one of the largest barriers to treatment and help seeking.
Many individuals from communities of color and racial minorities face extra barriers to mental health awareness and care, including issues related to costs, difficulties finding providers with shared backgrounds and experiences, lack of access to information, institutional racism, and additional stigma and fear of embarrassment from loved ones. Additionally, the experiences and voices from communities of color have historically been lacking in formal research and scholarly efforts, but efforts in more recent research has been trying to change that.
Encyclopedia of Mental Health
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This encyclopedia tackles the subject of mental health, arguably one of the biggest issues facing modern society. The book presents a comprehensive overview of the many genetic, neurological, social, and psychological factors that affect mental health, also describing the impact of mental health on the individual and society, and illustrating the factors that aid positive mental health. Written in an accessible style using terms that an educated layperson can understand.
Understanding Mental Health and Mental Illness: An Exploration of the Past, Present, and Future
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This book provides an overview of how people have conceptualized and understood mental illness through the ages. The book begins by looking at mental illness in humanity's evolutionary past then moves through the major historical epochs: the mythological, the Classical, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and modern, and the postmodern. At each point, it focuses on major elements that emerged regarding how people judged sanity and insanity and places major emphasis on the growing fields of psychiatry and psychology as they emerged and developed.
Making Mental Health: A Critical History
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This book historicises mental health by examining the concept from the 'madness' of the late nineteenth century to the changing ideas about its contemporary concerns and status. It argues that a critical approach to the history of psychiatry and mental health shows them to constitute a dual clinical-political project that gathered pace over the course of the twentieth century and continues to resonate in the present. The book offers a comprehensive account of the evolution of mental health into a commonplace concern.
APA Dictionary of Psychology
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This second edition of a landmark reference resource offers definitive information on the lexicon of the field, with significantly revised and expanded content especially in the areas of neuroscience, psychopharmacology, lifespan developmental psychology, statistics, experimental design, and many others. Thousands of incisive cross-references that deepen the user's comprehension of related topics More than 400 brief biographical entries on historical figures in psychology and other related areas.
A Research Handbook for Patient and Public Involvement Researchers
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This book is written for patients and members of the public who want to understand more about the approaches, methods and language used by health-services researchers. Patient and public involvement (PPI) in research is now a requirement of most major health-research programs, and this book is designed to equip these individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary for meaningful participation. Edited by award-winning mental-health researchers, the book has been produced in partnership with mental-health-service users and caregivers with experience of research involvement. It includes personal reflections from these individuals alongside detailed information on quantitative, qualitative and health-economics research methods.
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